Antonia Richards wasn’t afraid to rethink her entire floor plan in a bid to create a spacious home that works for the whole family
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‘Black and white is always my starting point and then I add lots of colour’
MY STORY
When we decided to move, there was little on the market within our budget. This place didn’t have a great layout as the whole ground floor was a garage and utility room, but it did have amazing potential to be a lovely family home, so we went for it.
We didn’t have money for renovations at first, so we lived here for two years while we saved, which gave us time to work out the best use of the space. We realised the kitchen needed to move from the middle floor to the downstairs, so we had plans drawn up that gave us three storeys of living space.
Originally, we were only going to do the ground floor, but we discovered the house needed a full rewire and new heating system, so we decided to renovate the whole house in one go.
We started with the kids’ rooms, so they had a place to escape the chaos. At one point the top floor was one huge room as we knocked down the walls to create three larger bedrooms. Then we reconfigured the downstairs layout to include a dining room and snug, which allowed us to have a large family living room in the middle.
We were lucky that the work went well and although some of our decisions changed along the way, I don’t see them as mistakes but learning curves. It’s all part of the process of creating a beautiful home.
‘A lot of people say my house flows in terms of colour, but I can honestly say I don’t give it loads of thought; I just choose what I like’
‘Having to stick to a tight budget hasn’t held me back. In fact, it’s made me be more creative with my decorating style’
‘I’m not scared to break decorating rules’
‘ The geometric rug, from Fy, was a great find as it complements my colour scheme of black and yellow perfectly, which I’ve softened using wood and rattan accessories’
Style idea
Use wood, rattan and blush pink accessories to soften a monochrome look
‘I originally used gloss paint on all the woodwork, but I really disliked the look and prefer the subtle style of matt so we took time to undo it and repainted everything in eggshell’
‘ The whole downstairs is narrow as this was originally the garage, which is why it’s so long and thin, but there was nothing we could do about that so I’ve tried to work with the space in the best way I can. I’ve managed to host 12 people over Christmas so luckily it works well’
‘ This slatted panelling is simple in style but attaching it to a small slice of the wall makes it more interesting. I’ve left it unpainted so it complements my rattan accessories’
Hang an artificial plant in an empty corner to create a visual break on a long wall Style idea
Style idea
Make a display of cute kitchen utensils by hanging them on a wooden peg rail
‘ This is exactly the same kitchen with the same units, worktops and wall tiles as when we first moved in, but we painted the low doors in Pigeon and the top in Wimborne White by Farrow & Ball, using a colour match service to save money, and then we replaced the handles and now I really like it!’
‘Using dark grout with the tiles wasn’t my original plan but looking at it now the house is finished, I think it suits my home style. The black bath caddy is from Aldi and the wicker storage baskets are from IKEA’ ‘I added a bit of black moulding and some hairpin legs to rattan storage baskets from H&M Home to make stylish bedside tables. The simple shelves and brackets are from Homebase’ Style idea
Wrap cable lights around wooden canister lids, like this pair from Poundland